Lesson #1: Don't just dive in to what you want to talk about
Lesson #2: Ask questions
In this post, I'd like to share a third lesson I learned from my experience with the Jehovah's Witnesses about effectively communicating with people, a lesson that you can apply to building your USANA -- or any! -- business:
Lesson #3: Start with points of commonality, not points of division
In this experience I had recently, what the Jehovah's Witnesses had to say about Doomsday I didn’t necessarily agree with. We both sort of entrenched in our position, and while the conversation never actually got heated, I don’t think either of us made much of a break-through, either.
BUT, I bet there were some things that they believed that I would also agree with. If we could have figured that out (to do so would have required asking questions, by the way!) it might have led to a much more productive conversation from their standpoint.
In USANA, before launching in to your sales presentation, figure out what your prospect already believes about eating a healthy diet, for example. Do they think they can get all of their nutrition from food alone? What are their thoughts on supplementation? Do they believe it's necessary? Why or why not? Are all products essentially the same? What do they feed their kids?
And in terms of business, do they think it’s even important to have multiple streams of income? Do they know what network marketing is? Are they looking to make a full-time income or a part-time income? Have they ever been in business for themselves before? etc.
It can be difficult to dive right in and “convince” someone that supplements are necessary, that USANA is the best, and that network marketing is the best way to distribute those products and to earn a nice residual stream of income. You may believe those things (and rightly so!), but if on a scale of 1-10 in each of those areas, your prospect is closer to a 2 or 3 in terms of their belief, then it will be better for you in the long run if you figure out where you do see eye-to-eye and build from there.
One final thought on this topic that should go without saying: People don't like to be told that they're wrong!
This is another reason why it's so important to start your conversations by focusing on areas where you share the same beliefs or ideas.
If you do ask a question and get a negative response, or if you hit on a topic that your prospect clearly disagrees with you about, don't make it immediately obvious that you think he/she is wrong. For example, if your prospect says something like, "You know, I think I actually eat pretty well and really believe that good food is the ideal place to get all your nutrients," you might be tempted to immediately counter that and explain all the reasons why that's out-dated thinking (e.g. soils are depleted, foods are over-processed, optimal levels of ingredients are simply impossible to get today without supplementation, etc.). However, I've found that a much better approach is to get your prospect talking more about his/her beliefs.
A great phrase to use when someone says something that you disagree with is: "Wow, that's an interesting perspective. Tell me more about that."
You'll find that it leads to a much more productive conversation. Furthermore, this approach may just open your prospect's eyes to some of your beliefs on the subject, much more so than if you immediately reject the person's way of thinking and state your position straight-away.
To be continued...
(check back tomorrow for Lesson #3!)
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